Originally Posted by
kingston
Since motorcycles are already legal, the only question is how big, powerful, and fast can a bike be and still use the bike lanes and bike paths. I'm not really too thrilled about the idea of a mom and 2 kids on a 500 pound cargo bike blowing by me at 25 miles per hour on the bike path. TBH I wouldn't be that thrilled to have your fatbike and trailer blow by at 20, which is legal pretty much everywhere in the US. That's what the debate is all about. Nobody cares how big and powerful a bike is if someone's riding it in traffic, and it's not that difficult to get a license plate.
Exactly right. I quite rightly can't legally ride a motorbike down a bike path. 250W is plenty powerful enough for something legally classed as a BICYCLE i.e. totally unlicensed and legally allowed on bike paths.
I'm wondering at what power level the whole pedalling drivetrain becomes totally pointless? If my "bike" had a 750W+ motor, what would be the point in even pedalling it anyway? Might as well just have a couple of footrests and call it a motorbike. But at least the regulators here in the UK seem to realise the difference and legislate accordingly.